Microfluidic intracellular delivery via fluid cell shearing

We report a novel microfluidic vector-less intracellular delivery platform that effectively internalizes various nanomaterials into different immune cell lines without the use of external forces. The cells suspended in Methylcellulose solution are designed to pass a single constriction where high shear stresses and pressure gradients are imposed to deform cells. Due to cell shearing, transient nanopores on cell membranes are effectively generated, and target nanomaterials from the surrounding medium can be easily diffused into the cell cytosol. Using this approach, highly efficient, high-throughput, and rapid delivery of macromolecules into different cell lines was accomplished while maintaining high cell viability.